New West Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Utah, Wyoming
Wanna change the world? Wanna lose those five pounds, strengthen community ties, get to lunch on time and save thousands of dollars?
“Nahhh.”
Oh. Okay. Well…well then riddle me this: what’s good for rich and poor, black and white, male and female, young and old, fat and thin—and our planet—that doesn’t involve starting a non-profit or burning bras or waving banners or wearing hemp necklaces with little abalone shells in ‘em?
The bi-cycle! This great new amazing invention that will change the world!
If you don’t have a bike, check out craigslist.org or go buy one from your local indie bikeshop. Get advice on what fits, and what you’re looking for: a road bike (Lance Armstrong) a cruiser (Leave it to Beaver) or a commuter (like my Bianchi Milano).
I’ve built my life around riding my bike. I live downtown, close to work and the Rec Center and groceries and bars and cafés. Still, when I ride way crosstown to 32nd to go to the rock climbing gym, I generally tie my friend, Graham Markel, driving his mom’s Audi.
TRAFFIC — no one likes traffic. It fosters aggression and impatience. But on a bike you can always flow one way or the other. Like Aesop’s bat, you’re neither bird nor beast. You can become a pedestrian or car at will, riding on the road or sidewalk and using crosswalks—you’re rarely stuck at a light. It may not be strictly legal, this ‘going with the flow,’ but, as with jaywalking, you won’t attract the attention of the 5-O unless you’re putting yourself or others in danger.
PARKING — it takes forever, and costs dough, and I don’t know about you, but when I used to drive every day I got a few pricey tickets a year. With a bike you just lock up right in front of The Kitchen, walk in for lunch, et voila: fresh motz local produce veggie sandwich with Dijon and Eldorado Springs artesian water followed by short capp, in and out in 45 minutes.
BOOZING — Drinking and driving? Bad. Very bad. But people do it all the time. So ride your bike to and from the bars. The fresh air helps at the end of the night, and if you fall over (which I’ve never done…) only you are the worse for it (…except that one time when I tried to ride through a gate with Pam Pedersen on the back of my bike, and missed). Of course, if you’re seeing double, take two cabs or sleep it off on your friends’ two couches, or your new friends’ two beds.
EXERCISE — You get a little bit, free, over the course of the day, every day, when you ride a bike. So spend less time Spinning or on the Elliptical or Stairmaster at the gym, and more time in the sauna and hot tub, reading wrinkly back issues of your favorite magazine.
TOTAL ENLIGHTENMENT — Awareness is the subject of ancient, fancy, high-falutent meditation practices. It’s also the day-to-day skill you’ll develop super-quick riding your bike. You don’t want to get in an argument with a car turning the wrong way—you’ll lose. I ride fast, and aggressive—still, I’ve grown eyes in the back of my head, and am able to ride defensively through it all. So far…
CLEAN AIR — Bikes don’t pollute, they don’t contribute to global warming, and they make Larry David’s ride look like a gas-guzzler.
CONVENIENCE — Here’s where you’d think bikes lose out. But I say the opposite. They’re quick, they’re nimble, no parking etc. And add a pop-on-pop-off bike basket, and you can even bring along your gym clothes or pick up a bag’s worth (sans bag) of groceries. Parents: add a lightweight Burley trailer, and you can easily tow your babe or tot. I only need to drive my car once a month, on average—combining all big-haul/long-distance errands into one grocery shopping run/hardware store binge/long-distance excursion fest.
MAINTENANCE — A bike costs about $100 a year to keep ship-shape, if you’re as crazy about it as I am. A car costs insurance, and gas, and $1,000’s of dollars in maintenance. Additionally, most local bikeshops will do basic checkups for free, for life.
ROADS — They cost us billion$ a year in construction, maintenance and taxes. They’re also ugly. They take up lots of space. They’re everywhere. And animals can’t cross them and rain can’t get through ‘em and people get in accidents. They suck.
Conclusion? In my hometown, Boulder—with its bike paths and bike lanes and bike racks on buses—the Bike Rules. Still, cars are cool. You wanna go 100 miles to hot springs or the ski slopes, a bike ain’t gonna help you. You wanna buy a bunch of stuff (as we Americans generally want to do), a bike ain’t gonna help much. So let’s not go to extremes. Let’s just make biking a part of our life.
You say you want a revolution? If we Americans hopped on a bike even once a week, the world would start revolving counterclockwise—and our lives would be healthier, happier and holier.
I love biking. But for me and people like me who cannot afford the kind of space needed downtown- I work out of my home and have a dog who must have her own fenced outdoor space to be a happy dog- I must drive. To offset this, I have a small fuel efficient vehicle and my other half Ryan uses his Ecopass to get to and from work. We also do a lot of pro bono design for nonprofits and give time back to the community. Do what you can!
Agreed, 100%, but until we get some high quality public transport—I’m talking NYC-quality baby—we’re still going to hell in a handbasket. And, of course, that would mean majorly different styles of urban, suburban, and rural development and, of course, a major shift in mindset and lifestyle. But, then again, I’ve heard it said that “the American lifestyle is not up for negotiation.” Oh well.
a big thumb and big quads are all you need to survive carless. I’ve traveled to the ski slopes, music festivals across the country, to the cliffs and everywhere in between without one of those pesky vehicles. In addition to all that good stuff Waylon mentioned, you get to know your world and fellow citizens in a unique and intimate way. Being totally carless may be a bit of a bother occasionaly, but it is possible to work 3 jobs, go to school, support two pets and live 8 miles out of town with only two wheels to your name.
Buddhist bicyclist Waylon Lewis has summed up the best reasons for all of us to look in the rear view of our gas guzzling SUV’s and ask “why not”?
As someone who has an addiction to my vehicle, I must commend Missuer Lewis on his dedication to the simple pleasure of riding a bike.
Living in the hills above Boulder and working on the East side of Boulder in Gunbarrel, it is honestly very hard to depend on a bike. Hell, we have had more zero degree days this winter than I can remember. Riding down 63rd to Spine on one of those days would be like trying to sunbath in Antarctica. Not a wise choice!
I will consider the information that Waylon has shared whole heartedly. Who knows, maybe it would help me to feel better. Now, if I can just find my rear view mirror…..
Good work Waylon!
Yeah, well, it all sounds lovely and all but frankly we don’t all live in cool,green Boulder. Some of us work 27.5 miles from home. Some of us live in the suburbs of Richmond, Virginia where there are no sidewalks and riding a bike is taking your life in your hands. Some of us are really jealous of your ability to utilize your bicycle so much. Way cool!
Know what the funny thing is? I rode my bike year-round in Chicago and, with the exception of my first few months in Boulder, I’m in my car constantly. Part of it is where I choose to live (Gunbarrel). Part of it is my weird schedule with my favorite ten-year-old. Poor excuses all. I know.
The other thing that I’ve noticed riding here in Boulder is that, because there are so many trails, drivers get angry at cyclists on the road. I want to ride as a commuter, not a tourist. And I want to ride fast. The trails aren’t really built for that.
The buses with bike racks are fantastic.
I just had performance bike shop put a cool basket on the front of my bike so I can take my dog Peaches with me on rides. Of course I made a little canvas insert to keep her little feet from poking through the bottom and a little leashy thing to keep her from jumping out. She really digs it. When I came back to Boulder from a year in Brasil in 1990 I didn’t have a car for 3 years. I lived on Mapleton Hill and rode my bike everywhere. I had to force myself to eat enough so I could fuel that bike around. It was the best shape I’ve ever been in. Someone told me a few years ago that if Boulder had cars at the same per capita rate as a chinese city we’d have exactly 3 cars in the whole town. Imagine Boulder with 3 cars and a few hundred thousand bikes. I think things are changing in China. We’d probably have 12 cars now. Still, not exactly a traffic jam. I try to have at least two days a week that I don’t drive even one inch. It really feels good to not speed around for a day or two.
The responses to my little hippie cliche bikes v car article made me a bit sad. We all love to give props to the ‘alternative’ and criticize the ‘mainstream’–then we build our lives around ‘the American lifestyle,’ as Maron called it. Well, 100 years ago the American lifestyle involved pooping horses and backyard gardens. Things change—and change, more often than not, is in the little things, the momentary decisions each of us make, or not, to live mindfully. Now, I’m the most mindless person I know on some level–and that, for those who know me, is not modesty–it’s cold, hard fact. But I have built my life around living sustainably. It’s been a conscious, gradual, enjoyable process. It involves sacrifice, if sacrifice is shopping at the small local bikable Co-op instead of the big fun bright parking-lot surrounded Whole Foods. Sacrifice? We’re healthier, as Gabrielle says, when we ride a bike day-to-day, and not just in a gym. We’re healthier when we don’t commute a half hour or hour twice a day, every day. We’re happier when we don’t spend our time parking and throwing quarters in meters and paying gas and maintenance. Look–I own a car, and I drive it when I gotta get outta town or make a big hardware store trip, or whatever. This way of life actually can be practical–and fun–and healthy.
Yes, it is true. Waylon was my inspiration for purchasing my totally cool, metalic mint green, 7-speed, aluminun, Electra cruiser, complete with front basket and a Dino the Dinosaur horn! I have yet to ride in the Summer Bicycle Regalia every Thursday evening during the summer here in Beautiful Boulder, CO, but I throughly expect to. Now I am addicted to bicyling. I ride in to town and cruise around from business to business to lunch to home. I am happier, I don’t need to feed the Saab, nor the oil companies as much anymore. A tank of gas now lasts me well over 8 weeks, (vs 10 days, in the ole’ days). People are constantly stopping me and asking me about my bike…Life is good when you are feelin en-lightin while you’re bikin!
THANKS for the INspiration, Waylon!
Waylon-
Re: biking & boozing – it’s actualy quite illegal to drink and pedal – every so often there ie a note in the blotter secoiton of the camerl about someone getting popped doing this. Unfgortualy, unless you own a tamdem there is not ‘designated peddler’ option.
Stefan
Great article!
I dont currently own a bike, but I only recently bought my first car. And only now because I want to travel. In the past, I either owned a bike, walked everywhere (a mile walk for me is a breeze now), took a bus, or at worst got a ride.
Point being: having a car makes getting around simple, but there are always other options. And so far as I can tell, a well balanced combination of all these is far more beneficial than the default jump-in-the-car.
Its just another one of those “not gonna change overnight” things. Bikes seem to be making a big reemergence into our transportation system, and people are learning to respect the bicyclist on the road. Also, many places have not only bike lanes, but also bike paths. One place I lived had a whole network of walking paths through the woods all over town. As non-motorized transportation become more status quo (and I think it will), these sorts of support systems will be built right into the grid.
Thanks Waylon for your words of inspiration!
Right on … And it is a quentissential Boulder date.
Great Bikes! Also consider recumbent (sp?)
bikes which are easier on some muscle grps!
Yours on the dirt or paved road,
Brian.
I believe the quote attributed to Pema was an original quote by CTR (See this years practice book, Feb 06)
http://www.bicyclefriendlycommunity.org/AllBicycleFriendlyCommunities.htm
lists the top bicycling communities in US.
Davis, California is the only Platinum level
Followed by 4 at the Gold level.
Boulder, Colorado
Corvallis, Oregon
Palo Alto, California
Portland, Oregon
I’ve been to Davis and believe it qualifies. Having grown up in Palo Alto, CA – I have loved the quality of life having great bike lanes and network. I was able to bike everywhere. Stanford University is right next to Palo Alto and was voted up there as well in Silver Category.
We lived in Corvallis, OR and found it very bike friendly. It’s great that Boulder has the quality of life and foresight for bicycling. Having lived in many cities growing up, I’ve grown to appreciate places like Palo Alto that set up the great bike lanes and related infrastructure to accomodate commuters.
If you live in Boulder – take advantage of the it and bike!
I hope Colorado setups long term infrastructure and light rail similar to Bay Area’s Rapid Transit System and allows bike on the transit and safe bike parking (www.bikestation.org). This allows commuters to bike to the rapid transit and take bikes on and then bike to destinations after getting off.
We know live in Fort Collins. Even though it was voted a Silver Category, I personally would not bike many of the streets. The trailways are excellent for biking, walking, etc. I’m hoping the city extends the trail networks…then I’ll consider biking to work on the days I’m not working at home.
After reading the article, I’m tempted in getting out my trusty Miyata and transforming it for a third time into the ultimate commuter bike….or maybe not hassle and I’ll go find a decent more modern bike.
Here’s link on the Bay Area’s Rapid Transit System.
http://www.bart.gov/guide/bikes/bikeOverview.asp
Hopefully Colorado emulates something like this and has foresight for long term transportation initiatives.
Driving down I-25…especially in winter with snow is a scary proposition at times and as Colorado’s population and traffic density grows and we run out of room to get the right infrastructure in place…we could up like Honolulu metro – where traffic is horrible since they’ve just run out of room to build their rapid transit systems. It’s taken me 45 minutes to go 1 mile across town during traffic. Next time – I’m walking or pushing my kids on stroller if it’s traffic like that and breathing in the fumes of cars! Too bad they didn’t have foresight to build in better bike lanes. This is one spot that I’m not sure I would want to bike around too much…..unless it’s on the off traffic beach trails..
Foresight and vision for building in the right combination of transit systems, bike lanes, roads, etc will help enable a better quality of life.